Minimal Install

Since it's more likely than not that you are starting with an existing CentOS install, the first place to begin is by stripping it down to its basics. There are some packages you'll want to download first to make sure you have access to fetch things from the Internet.

Here are some basics you should download the source files for before removing any packages:

openssl

elinks

screen

vim

dropbear

openssh

htop

Current Package Set

Get a list of the currently installed programs:

yum list installed | cut -d " " -f 1

Remove Packages

There is a list of “safe” packages that can be removed without affecting any existing LAMP systems: